The Rise of the Rishiri Galaxy at Jawaharlal Nehru Port: India’s Port Expansion and Manufacturing Ambitions

The Emergence of the Rishiri Galaxy at Jawaharlal Nehru Port

The Rishiri Galaxy, a Panamanian-flagged tanker measuring a remarkable one and a half times the length of a standard football field, floated at the dock on a sultry day at Jawaharlal Nehru Port, located on India’s bustling west coast. Having recently arrived from the Persian Gulf, this colossal vessel carried a cargo of industrial chemicals — essential raw materials fueling India’s diverse manufacturing sectors, which produce everything from pharmaceuticals and automotive components to cosmetics, construction materials, and an array of other contemporary products.

Meanwhile, at a nearby terminal, towering overhead cranes were busy transferring shipping containers from another vessel operated by Maersk, the renowned Danish shipping giant. These containers, filled with goods including high-tech electronics from South Korea, palm oil sourced from Indonesia, and sophisticated machinery from Europe, were destined for warehouses scattered across the world’s most populous nation.

Approximately one out of every four shipping containers that traverse India passes through this pivotal port, situated on the docks extending into the Arabian Sea just south of Mumbai. Over the past two decades, the volume of container traffic has surged, tripling to an impressive equivalent of 6.4 million twenty-foot boxes in the previous year. However, despite this growth, by global standards, particularly when compared to the sprawling ports of China, Jawaharlal Nehru Port remains relatively modest in scale.

India’s Ambitious Plans for Port Expansion

In response to this burgeoning demand, India has embarked on an ambitious campaign aimed at enhancing its port infrastructure. The government is actively preparing plans for the construction of new ports and the expansion of existing facilities. The success of these initiatives could significantly influence one of India’s most grandiose ambitions: transforming the nation into a dominant force in manufacturing and export.

This vision is becoming increasingly viable as multinational retailers, who have historically relied on Chinese factories for production, now seek alternative manufacturing hubs. Motivated by trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, alongside the supply chain disruptions experienced during the pandemic, companies are reevaluating their sourcing strategies. This trend is gaining momentum, with businesses acknowledging that trade relations between the world’s two largest economies are likely to remain fraught, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November. Consequently, many prominent brands are actively exploring the potential for establishing manufacturing operations in India.